Apple says it is offering the fastest graphics ever in its iMac systems.
Most of the product rumors surrounding Apple in 2008 have been related to the expected 3G iPhone this summer. However, some rumors have been circulating over the last few weeks that Apple was updating its line of iMac computers.
Apple confirmed these rumors today when it announced an updated iMac model range. Pricing for the new iMac models starts at the same $1,199 entry level price the new iMac carried when it was introduced in August of 2007. For the same money today, the iMac line gets a batch of new Intel Core 2 Duo processors with even the low-end model getting a 6MB L2 cache and a faster 1066 MHz front side bus.
The first batch of new iMacs had a known issue with their ATI HD series video cards that caused a freeze requiring a reboot acknowledged by Apple in August of 2007. While that bug has been worked out of the iMac, Apple says that it is now offering the fastest graphics card ever available in an iMac — and it’s not from ATI.
Customers can opt for an NVIDIA 8800 GS graphics card with 512MB of VRAM offering what Apple claims is up to twice the performance on graphics intense applications. NVIDIA graphics are only available on the 24-inch iMac. Other features include AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, iSight camera and five USB ports including the pair on the keyboard.
The base level 20-inch iMac has a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 1GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics and a 250GB HDD. The system retails for $1,199. Another pre-config 20-inch iMac retails for $1,499 and has a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 320GB HDD, Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB graphics and 2GB of RAM.
The pre-config 24-inch iMac retails for $1,799 and features a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, HD 2600 Pro graphics and a 320GB HDD. To get 4GB of RAM, the 3.06 GHz CPU, or NVIDIA 8800 GS graphics requires a built-to-order system. A 1TB SATA hard drive is also a built-to-order option. All new models and options are available now.
News source: DAILYTECH
